Meet Kosal. He’s small for his age, but he’s got a big smile. He lives in Phnom Penh in a tiny shack with his mom and her boyfriend – and recently, a very little baby.
“I think I’m really lucky,” Kosal told our social worker. “Although we are very poor, I know my mom loves me.”
Kosal’s mom is a street sex worker. It’s a dangerous job, but most nights she can earn $2-$5, enough to keep them fed. They live with her boyfriend.
Kosal searches trash to make enough for his family's food
He doesn’t work and he drinks a lot, but Kosal thinks he’s alright because he doesn’t hit them, and he helps with the baby.
Kosal longed to go to school, and when Riverkids talked to his mom, he promised he would do well if he got the chance.
And Kosal did. He never missed a class, attended afterschool tuition and studied hard. “I was really happy because I love school,” he said.
Then a few months ago, one of their neighbours asked Kosal’s mom to help. She was a street sex worker too, but living by herself. She’d just had a tiny baby and needed someone to look after the baby while she worked.
But after a few days, the neighbour vanished, leaving the baby behind. His mother, soft-hearted despite how hard life has been, immediately took the little girl in.
Babies need milk though, and Kosal’s mom used the rent money, hoping the little baby’s mother would return soon. She didn’t, and Kosal was now her big bKosaler. He started skipping class to work for the baby’s milk. Sometimes he could still make the morning class, but mostly he was just too tired to think about learning.
He collects trash on the streets to sell for money. Cans are the best because the kids can carry a lot of them in a bag, and they sell for more. It takes hours to fill up one old ricebag with a dollar’s worth of trash.
His Riverkids teachers noticed he wasn’t at class, and when our social worker came to visit and found out about the baby, things got better. Riverkids helped with milk, baby things and lots of support.
Kosal returned with much relief to class. But it didn’t last.
My mom is getting older, Kosal explained when a social worker came to talk to his family again after he skipped class. She doesn’t make as much money now, and I have to help out.
In Cambodia, families believe deeply that parents must care for their children first, and then return that care later. Kosal’s mother had given as much as she could.
Now, Kosal works in the evenings collecting trash. It’s more dangerous because it’s dark, but it means he can usually go to school. He hasn’t been hit by a car like some of the other kids, or had some of the other bad things happen – he’s a boy, so it’s safer. But just last week, he got bitten by a dog. The dog’s owner was kind though, and he helped Kosal go to the clinic to get the bite treated and an injection.
For Kosal, the future is uncertain. He’ll have to say goodbye to his foster sister in a few months if her mom doesn’t return, and she gets placed with a permanent family. He can’t really count on his “uncle”, so it’s just him and his mom.
He loves his mom, and he wants to be a good son. But he wants so much to go to school and be an ordinary boy again.
Change Kosal’s life: We want to provide this family with a foodbox and help, so Kosal can go back to school full-time and have a real childhood.
Notes:
- Names have been changed to protect identities.
- Kosal’s mother is a street sex worker, a job that brings in $2-$5 a month. It’s a dangerous and difficult job. We are trying to find another job for her, but she has almost no skills or training, and will need support during any training she takes.
- The baby will continue to be fostered with Kosal’s family who have shown exceptional affection and care for the child, for another 2-3 months. If the baby’s mother has not returned by then, we will be seeking a long-term fostering or adoption with a Cambodian family as the first choice.
Make Thida a teacher